New Delhi: Not long ago, the Indian women’s hockey team was a fractured unit, drowning in the echoes of missed opportunities.
The true litmus test, however, was the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. Seniors like Savita Punia, Navneet Kaur and Neha set the standard, allowing younger players to thrive without fear. They showcased extraordinary grit, holding Paris Olympics silver medallists China, a formidable England squad, and two-time world champions Australia to grinding draws.
Operating with a squad featuring 11 debutants, Marijne deployed a decentralised leadership model. The result was a brilliant fifth-place finish, India’s best showing since the inaugural edition in 1974. Navigating elite opposition, India suffered just one defeat in the tournament — a hard-fought 0-2 loss to world No.1 Netherlands. Apart from a 6-1 hammering of South Africa, the highlights of the campaign was a resounding 3-1 victory over two-time world champions Germany.
Former India chief coach Neil Hawgood, under whom the team qualified for their first Olympics in 2016 after a 36-year gap, summarised Marijne’s tactical approach perfectly. He dictated a clear message to his players: “Focusing on team goals will help you achieve personal goals. But focusing on individual goals, you’ll never achieve team goals. We created unity. We created the belief that they can do more than they think. Former India captain Pritam Rani Siwach pinpointed exactly how Marijne healed the divide. “What Marijne does is he lets the girls be free and play freely. “Secondly, he makes the players mix with each other. He doesn’t allow the segregation of junior and senior players in the team. He never lets that happen. This unified front translated directly into on-field milestones, sparking a relentless winning momentum. Marijne’s first major test came quickly, and he delivered by guiding the team to victory at the World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad in March. Riding that wave, India then clinched the Nations Cup in June, a crucial triumph that promoted them back into the elite FIH Pro League.
He doesn’t allow any mischievousness in the team and makes everyone play together with unity,” said the Dronacharya awardee, five of whose wards — Neha Goyal, Jyoti, Shilpi Dabas, Sakshi Rana and Ishika — are in the team. “Sjoerd gives them structure and discipline and the freedom to play within those boundaries,” Hawgood told HT from Perth. He does not scare them that if they don’t play well, they will be dropped,” Siwach told HT on Saturday.
Relegated from the FIH Pro League, starved of top-flight international fixtures, and reeling from the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the squad was bogged down by internal rifts. The turbulence and mounting failures claimed the tenures of two successive coaches, Janneke Schopman and Harendra Singh.
